The present disclosure generally relates to methods and compositions for treatment or prevention of autism disorders. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to compositions comprising at least one of Menthol, Linalool or Icilin and further relates to methods comprising administering such compositions.
Autism disorders are severe neurobehavioral syndromes understood to be inherited disorders, although environmental factors are thought to contribute in at least some autism disorders. Autism disorders typically cause major defects in perception, cognition, executive functions and motor control. Although these effects differ between types of autism, abnormalities in language and social skills are pervasive throughout types of autism disorders.
The underlying mechanisms of autism disorders are poorly understood, but a hypothesis has gained favor that autism disrupts neural systems by causing an abnormal balance of the ratio of excitation to inhibition, possibly associated with chronically elevated neuronal activity without cell death. For example, Fragile X syndrome is a type of autism disorder arising from mutations in an untranslated region of the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. This gene encodes a protein required for normal neural development, and the mutations prevent expression of this protein.
Because of the excessive glutaminergic mechanisms involved in autism, glutamate antagonists have been proposed as treatments for autism and have seen some positive developments. These antagonists inhibit the binding of glutamate to NMDA receptors such that accumulation of Ca2+ and therefore excitotoxicity can be avoided. However, use of glutamate antagonists presents a huge obstacle because the treatment interferes with the normal action of glutamate under standard conditions. A number of glutamate antagonists have been explored as options in central nervous system (CNS) disorders, but many are found to lack efficacy or have intolerable side effects.
There is a clear and persisting need to prevent and treat autism disorders, such as fragile X syndrome for example.